FERC impact report in favor of North Baja pipeline

The U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the California State Lands Commission have prepared a final environmental impact statement, or environmental impact report, in favor of the natural gas pipeline facilities proposed by North Baja Pipeline.

North Baja’s Pipeline Expansion Project would be located in La Paz County, Arizona and Riverside and Imperial Counties, California.

North Baja proposes to construct 80 miles of 42- and 48-inch-diameter pipeline loop, a 2.1-mile, 36-inch-diameter lateral to Southern California Gas Company’s existing Blythe Compressor Station, a 46-mile-long, 16-inch-diameter pipeline lateral to the existing Imperial Irrigation District El Centro Generating Station, and other associated facilities.

The final impact report was prepared to satisfy the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act, the California Environmental Quality Act, and the Federal Land Management and Policy Act.

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Bureau of Reclamation participated as cooperating agencies in the preparation of the impact report, which will be used by the BLM to consider amending the California Desert Conservation Area Plan and the Yuma District Resource Management Plan.

The report concludes that the proposed project, with the appropriate mitigation measures as recommended, would be an environmentally acceptable action.

The report argues in favor of the project in part because 99 percent of the proposed pipeline facilities would be constructed in or adjacent to various existing rights-of-way, and no new permanent right-of-way would be required for the pipeline loop, and the permanent right-of-way for the lateral pipelines would be limited to a maximum width of 30-35 feet;

Furthermore, the report notes that North Baja has promised to implement various mitigation plans to protect natural resources and residential areas during construction and operation of the project, such as the use of the horizontal directional drill method to avoid disturbances to the beds and banks of the Colorado River, the All-American Canal, and the East Highline Canal and associated wetlands.

However, the report notes that the appropriate agency and tribal consultations, and any appropriate compliance actions resulting from these consultations, would be completed before North Baja would be allowed to begin construction in any given area.